Rousseau 2012

Open Air Exhibition and Promenade
25 MAY - 14 OCTOBER

"I'm crazy about botany: it gets worse every day. I no longer have only hay in my head, I'm going to become a plant myself one of these mornings...". Letter from Rousseau to François-Henri d'Ivernois, 1st August 1765.

Writer, philosopher and musician, Jean-Jacques Rousseau was also an enthusiastic botanist, as illustrated by this passage from a letter addressed to one of his correspondents in Geneva. It was particularly from 1765 onwards that this famous Geneva citizen manifested his growing passion for the study of the plant world.

The exhibition devoted to the "philosopher - botanist" has been devised for you as an open air presentation and promenade. Through the eleven thematic displays, you can learn more about the botanical thinking of Jean-Jacques Rousseau.

Over the course of promenade, as free as Rousseau himself would no doubt have wished it to be, his relationships with gardens, the alpine landscape, exotic botany, Genevan botanists and the practical value of plants are evoked. His training and his legacy to botanical history are also presented, as well as his writings, such as Elementary Letters on Botany.

Through two audio presentations, you can immerse yourself in Rousseau's actual texts. This immersion can be achieved by reading his works yourself, or by listening to some famous passages taken from his writings, accompanied by music.

What an amazing encounter!
Enjoy your walk and visit!

The exhibition is open
Every day from 8.00 - 19.30

The exhibition is bilingual
French - English

Locations of the thematic displays
Alpine Garden, Avenue of Plane Trees, Terraces of herbs and useful plants, lawn of the Villa le Chêne

Admission is free

Credits

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© 2018 Conservatoire et Jardin botaniques